Just Do It Department

byAnne WaymanonFebruary 27, 2012

Do you follow Seth Gooden? If you don’t, perhaps you should. He’s a writer, a marketer and all around interesting person to read.

What sparked this particular paean is his post, Make something happen. I’d missed it or forgotten it, but someone posted it on twitter and it is as worthwhile as when he posted it way back when in 2006!

It’s what he would tell you if he had to pick one marketing tip. And he suggests we do it before the end of the week. Or even today before we quit work.

What might this look like for a freelance writer?

Well, almost anything. You could:

Start that book

Send a query or a dozen

Call an editor

Email a past client

Apply for a writing gig

Put your resume on Craigslist

Finally get that website done (or at least well started.)

Finish a project you’ve been postponing.

Get back to work on a personal writing project

Post to your blog

Order business cards

It almost doesn’t matter what you do as long as you do something.

Will it work? Will it sell? Will it mean you land that new contract or get accepted for that new gig?

Who knows?

But you sure won’t work, sell, contract or get accepted etc. if you don’t give it a go.

Here’s what I’m going to do this week: Outline my kickstarter project and list what I want to include on the video. I’ll report back Friday.

I thing goinglikesixty wad actually trying to point out that you spelled Seth’s last name rather incorrectly.

He’s got almost two many fascinating idea based books to name, though. I really enjoy both the style and content of his work. Guy Kawasaki is a similar author, and his latest work Enchantment has a lot of value for writers.

And writing that comment has identified my own “do something” task: figure out how to turn off auto-correct/complete in my iPad so I can, ironically, actually write correctly on it when using it for work.

I did two of those!
Ordered new business cards for day job hunting. Thanks, Anne, for recommending Vistaprint. 🙂

Also I started a new blog to put on my LinkedIn profile. It’s about work stuff. I’d been writing workish posts for my blog Graphomaniac, but since it’s really supposed to be about writing and art, they didn’t really fit too well. Also, Graphomaniac is WAY less conservative.

I took the most workish ones off, reedited them and started off the new blog with them. It’s called Clerical Chick and you can see it here if you like. https://clericalchick.wordpress.com/

I just wanted potential employers to see I can write. I’m really tired of getting stuck on the front desk. I would love to write all day but I’m not ready to depend on that yet. Hopefully it will show that I’m creative and versatile.Elizabeth West recently posted..New Blog and the Saga of the Garage Sale Leftovers

I’m sending past and current clients an e-mail directing them to my latest blog post, a post that showcases my knowledge of an important aspect of my specialty. I’m also taking the opportunity to inquire about new projects.John Soares recently posted..How to Write Multiple-Choice Questions

This week I’ll put in 20 hours or more on my next novel. I’ll also write four columns for two different Internet publications and one print edition that will be published by the end of the week. I’ll query an editor with a story pitch, query another with a request for an update on the status of three stories submitted to him last month, and answer something like 200 e-mails.

I know I’ll do that this week because it’s essentially what I did last week, and the week before. It’s what I do every week. And I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to do it.